Don't Take The Girl
by thehereandnow
Summary: Based on the song by Tim McGraw


**A/N:** "Don't Take The Girl" is one of my favorite songs from when I was younger, and when I heard it driving home I thought it would be fun to write Faberry style. So I spent my evening doing so! If you've never heard the song before be sure to listen to it, and keep the tissues handy!

Don't Take The Girl

"I don't want to take her with us, Daddy!" Quinn stomped her foot and crossed her arms as she stood on the porch with her father, Russel. "Why couldn't we take Santana or Brittany? Why did you have to ask Rachel? I would rather have Tina go. Or Kurt! Anyone but Rachel Berry."

"It would be nice for you to make new friends, Quinn." Russel stood calmly beside his daughter, watching the road for the Berry's car.

"Rachel is dumb! She doesn't even like to play cheerleader at school and she listens to weird music!" Eight year old Quinn furrowed her brow and continued to stomp her feet. Russel shook his head, and tried to take his daughter's hand but she pulled away and turned her back to him.

"I know you don't want Rachel to go, but maybe you'll change your mind and find she's a good friend."

The Berry's pulled into the driveway a moment later and Russel walked down the stone path to meet them. Rachel got out of the car and stood beside Russel. Quinn turned around and rolled her eyes when she saw Rachel's outfit, a red skirt and a white button up baseball shirt with thin red stripes paired with knee high white socks and white Converse shoes. Her hair was pulled into two pigtails with red ribbons. Quinn turned her back to the driveway again and tried to imagine what Santana and Brittany were doing today, they were probably riding bikes or something fun, definitely not going to a baseball game with Rachel Berry.

"Come on Quinny!" Russel hollered from the driveway. Quinn turned around and stomped down to the car where Rachel was waiting. Russel opened the door and the two eight year old girls piled into the backseat and buckled their seat belts. Quinn turned her head and looked out the window while Rachel sat beside her, ankles crossed, hands in her lap and a huge smile on her face.

"Thank you for inviting me Mr. Fabray!" Rachel spoke in her normal sing song voice. Quinn exhaled loudly and threw her head against the back of the seat. "And you too Quinn! I've never been to a baseball game before."

"You're welcome, Rachel! I am sure you girls will have a good time." Russel looked at the girls in the rear view mirror.

"Yeah, I am sure we're going to have lots of fun." Quinn said sarcastically as she rolled her eyes. Even at the age of eight Quinn had mastered the art of sarcasm, and Rachel had not obviously learned to pick it up judging by the huge smile on her face.

"How about some music? Rachel, what do you like to listen to?"

"Show tunes are my favorite, but I also like classical music."

Quinn groaned loudly and sunk down in her seat, causing her seat belt to slip from across her chest over her head.

"Lucy Quinn Fabray sit up right now and get that seat belt on correctly." Russel spoke sternly from the driver's seat.

"Yeah, definitely wouldn't want to get hurt and have to go back home." Quinn mumbled under her breath as she sat back up and fixed the belt. She looked over at Rachel who was still sitting ankles crossed, hands in her lap and staring straight ahead with a smile as Russel scanned through the radio stations trying to find something Rachel liked.

**10 years later**

Quinn held Rachel in her arms in front of the movie theater, they had just finished a movie and people were streaming from the theater and onto the sidewalk. The girls remained still, looking into each other's eyes and smiling, communicating without words. Rachel gave Quinn a quick peck on the cheek, "I'm going to run back in and use the bathroom. Wait for me here?"

Quinn nodded and Rachel walked back into the theater. Quinn watched as Rachel walked away, her long brown hair bouncing with each step she took. She smiled, if this wasn't what love felt like then she didn't know what it was. She walked around in front of the movie theater as the crowd thinned out, looking at the movie posters and waiting for Rachel to return.

Five minutes passed and Rachel still hadn't returned.

After another two minutes had passed without Rachel coming back out Quinn decided to go in and see what was taking her so long. The lobby of the theater was empty except for the two teenagers working the concession stand, and they didn't seem to be paying much attention to anything judging by the smell of burnt popcorn that filled the air.

"Rach, are you in here?" Quinn called out as she walked into the bathroom.

"Quinn!"

A gruff male voice that Quinn did not recognize rang out, "Shut up. I said to give me your purse!"

Quinn turned the corner in the bathroom to find Rachel cornered by a man in a black sweatshirt, the hood pulled over his head, and a backpack on his back. He turned when he heard his head Quinn's footsteps on the tile floor, his face obscured by the tightly drawn hood.

"Get off of her!" Quinn yelled as she made her way across the large bathroom. The man wrapped one arm around Rachel's head and put his other hand into the kangaroo pocket on the front of his sweatshirt. Quinn stepped back, unsure, and looked at Rachel, her brown eyes wide and her face pale. The man pulled a shiny black pistol from his pocket and held it to Rachel's head.

"Give me your purse, now!" The man's voice sent chills down Quinn's spine.

"Give him your purse Rachel!" Quinn demanded, not taking her eyes off the gun.

"Yours too." The man spoke harshly and tightened his hold on Rachel as she removed her bag from her shoulder, letting it drop to the floor.

Quinn threw her purse to his feet, "Take it! Take it, just let go of her! My keys are in there, it's the red Beetle out front. Take it!" Quinn spoke quickly, her voice quivering, giving her fragile state away. She removed a ring from her right hand and threw it near her purse. "Take that too, it was my great-grandmothers. Just let her go, don't hurt her!"

The man looked from Rachel to Quinn and back again, finally releasing his grip on Rachel. "Don't move," he ordered as he knelt down. He dug through Quinn's purse, removed the keys and pocketed them and her ring, then he stuffed the purses into his backpack and stood up. He took one last look at both girls before speaking again in a near whisper, "Remember, I have both of your IDs, I know where you live."

The girls both nodded, their mouths agape and eyes wide, and the man ran from the bathroom pulling his hood down as he turned the corner. Rachel chewed on her bottom lip and as soon as she made eye contact with Quinn she ran to her and Quinn wrapped her arms around her, squeezing tight.

"Did he, did he hurt you?" Quinn asked, rubbing Rachel's back. Rachel shook her head that was buried in Quinn's shoulder and began to cry, her whole body convulsing. "Shhh, you're fine now. I'm here and we are both okay. He's gone." Quinn whispered into her ear and swayed back and forth slowly, gently rocking Rachel.

"I love you." Rachel whispered, having calmed down a little bit.

"I love you too." Quinn replied, still squeezing Rachel's small frame.

**5 years later**

Quinn woke up and rolled over to find herself in an empty bed. She sat up and was confused when she discovered the light in the master bathroom was off. Anytime Rachel had gotten out of bed in the middle of the night for the past few months Quinn could find her in the bathroom, laughing because their daughter was once again using her bladder as a trampoline. She climbed out of bed and padded out to the kitchen, following the light that was shining from the room.

"Quinn." Rachel spoke through gritted teeth. "Quinn, it hurts." Rachel stood with both hands on the tiled counter top and her head nearly laying on it as well.

Quinn stood speechless in the door as she watched Rachel move from side to side, breathing heavily and repeatedly clenching and relaxing her grip on the counter.

Rachel looked at Quinn, her eyes filled with pain, "Quinn, it hurts."

"I'll, I'll get the bags." Quinn turned and ran back down the hallway to the bedroom. She pulled off her pajama pants and replaced them with the jeans she had worn the day before and pulled her hair into a ponytail. She pulled on a pair of sneakers without socks and grabbed the duffel bag that had been sitting at the end of their bed for the past two months. Quinn walked back out of the room, pausing for a moment at the door of their unborn daughter's room. The room was decorated in whimsical woodland creatures, a mobile with a baby bear, deer, squirrel and porcupine hung above the crib on the far wall. A rocking chair sat beside the crib, waiting for midnight feedings and bedtime stories. Suddenly remembering what she was supposed to be doing Quinn turned and dashed back to the kitchen.

Carefully and slowly she helped Rachel to the car and drove to the hospital, pushing the gas pedal a little harder each time Rachel's breathing changed because of the pain.

"My wife is in labor, she's in a lot of pain!" Quinn yelled out as they hobbled into the hospital together. She had an arm around Rachel, helping her walk as contractions flooded over her body, taking control. A nurse rushed over with a wheelchair and helped Rachel sit down.

"How far along is she?" asked the nurse, turning her attention to Quinn.

"She's full term." Quinn responded, her eyes not leaving Rachel. The nurse nodded and began pushing Rachel down the hall to the elevators.

"Can't we go a little faster?" Quinn asked, holding Rachel's hand as the nurse pushed her along the hallway of the labor and delivery floor.

The nurse chuckled, "Sorry hun, this isn't NASCAR."

Quinn sighed and rolled her eyes as she ran her thumb along Rachel's hand to try to relax her.

The nurse turned into a room and helped Rachel into the hospital bed. "I'm going to get your vitals and hook you up to a fetal monitor. The doctor will be in in a few minutes."

After the nurse left Quinn sat down on the bed beside Rachel and together they watched their daughter's heartbeat on the monitor.

"Are you nervous?" Quinn asked Rachel.

"Do you mean nervous for delivery, or nervous because we are going to be parents very, very soon?"

"Both." Quinn replied, still staring at the monitor.

"I guess I am nervous about both, but everyone says you forget the pain as soon as they put the baby on your chest so it will be okay. But Quinn, we are going to be parents! We've waited forever it seems like for this moment, and it is finally here!" Rachel squeezed Quinn's hand and Quinn leaned down and planted a kiss on her lips.

"I hate to interrupt, but I need to see how everything is going." Dr. Jenson smiled from the doorway. Quinn stood up and leaned against the wall while Dr. Jenson studied the monitor showing Rachel's vitals.

"Your blood pressure is abnormally high." Dr. Jenson turned to Rachel, a quizzical look on his face. "I am going to have them prep a room for a Cesarean in case we can't get it back to normal, I will be right back in."

The doctor turned and left the room, leaving Quinn and Rachel with a million unanswered questions.

"It'll be alright, I'm sure of it." Quinn soothed Rachel who looked on the verge of tears. "I'm going to see if the nurse is in the hall, she'll be able to give us some information." Quinn walked to the door and poked her head out, disappointed to find it empty. When she turned back around Rachel's head was slumped forward.

"Rachel, Rachel what are you doing?" Quinn tilted her head upright again. "Rachel?" She shook her shoulder, but got no response from Rachel's limp body.

"Oh my God." Quinn whispered, tears instantly pouring from her eyes. She pressed the emergency button on the side of Rachel's bed and stood back, watching Rachel's monitor but not knowing what she was seeing. She glanced at the screen that showed the baby's information and it remained unchanged from when she and Rachel watched it together.

Suddenly a team of nurses and doctors ran into the room and started taking over. A male nurse steered Quinn from room, "Ma'am, I need you go go out in the hallway. We'll be out in just a moment to let you know what is going on."

"I can't leave her." Quinn cried, trying to edge her way back in the room.

"Ma'am, I need you to stay out here so I can go in and do my job. We'll be out to speak with you soon."

Quinn nodded, and let herself slide down the wall across from the room. She folded her knees up to her chest and let the tears fall down her face. Her whole life was in that room, her wife and her daughter, and she was helpless.

What seemed like an eternity passed and suddenly the doctors burst from the room, pushing Rachel's bed with Rachel on it.

Quinn stood up and held her hand out to touch Rachel but they rushed by too quickly, "Where are you taking her, what is going on?"

The nurse that had pushed her from the room stayed behind and placed his hand on Quinn's shoulder. "They are doing an emergency Cesarean now, the baby is fine but your wife...your wife is fading very fast. You can wait in the room and they'll be back with more information as soon as they have it." The doctor squeezed her shoulder lightly and then ran down the hall in the direction they took Rachel.

Back in the room Rachel sat down on the couch where she had thought she would be sleeping for the next few nights and cried. Although it had been years since she had last done so, she clasped her hands in front of her and cried aloud, "Please don't take her from me, take me instead. I can't live without her, our daughter needs her. She doesn't deserve to grow up without Rachel, and Rachel doesn't deserve to miss out on her life. Just take me instead. Take the very breath that you gave me, I'll gladly take her place if in you let me. Please. I can't do this without her." Quinn fell silent and put her face in her hands, her whole body shaking.

A while later a nurse walked in holding a small bundle of blankets in her arms, and Quinn stood up. "She's gone. I'm so sorry." The nurse spoke softly.

Quinn nodded, now feeling numb to emotion.

"The baby is perfectly healthy, do you want to hold her?"

Quinn nodded again, and sat back down on the couch, not trusting herself to remain upright at this point. The nurse gently placed the newborn in Quinn's arms. Quinn looked down at the baby, who looked exactly like Rachel. A head full of dark brown hair stuck up all over the baby's small head, and she had the exact same nose as Rachel had.

"Does she have a name?"

Quinn paused for a moment, they had agreed on the name Anna Elizabeth months but Rachel had always liked the name Idina, after the actress who originally placed Elphaba in Wicked, one of her favorite Broadway shows and the middle name Claire because it meant bright and famous. Quinn smiled at her daughter before looking up at the nurse, "Yes, her name is Idina Claire. But she'll go by Claire."

"That's a beautiful name. I'll leave you two alone for a moment."

Quinn looked down at her sleeping daughter and smiled, "I don't know as much about Broadway as your Mommy, but I promise I'll try. And I promise we'll go see Wicked, and any other show you want. And we'll watch all of the award shows together, because your Mommy loved them. I just lost my better half, and you are going to miss out on growing up with the greatest woman I have ever known, but I promise I will try not to screw up too much. We will have to do this together little one." Quinn sighed, and kissed her daughter on the forehead.


End file.
